Hey Garfield
Silkworms are a hell of a lot of work in season but it depends what you have to feed. If it’s a small amount of T's the work may be unjustified but if you have other insect eaters like beardies or chameleons then there is no faster way to provide huge amounts of protein in record time.
They are also one of the most nutritious feeders for your pets, a simple breakdown of nutrients which you can find almost anywhere on the internet below:
Fat%kcal Calcium mg/kcal Phosphorus mg/kcal Protein %kcal
Silkworm 43 0.5 0.6 54
Mealworm 60 0.1 1.2 37
Cricket 44 0.2 2.6 50
(Source:
www.silkwormshop.com/benefits.html
)
Please note that whatever the people claim on the internet that there is no other food for silkies than mulberry or silkworm "chow", which is made from mulberry. Worms suffer from all sorts of horrible nutrient deficiencies on stuff like beetroot or lettuce.
If one takes dormant eggs at the end of winter and ziplock bag them in the fridge you can hatch small amounts whenever you want in the following season. An alternative is to get eggs that have just turned black and ziplock/fridge those for 2 months, then hatch likewise whenever you feel like. The eggs have a one year life-span in the fridge, I have tried this.
There are also strains of silkie out there that lay eggs that hatch again within a week of being deposited; these are also a season-long source of food.
I breed and feed hundreds of the things every season, and my herps are all super fat and happy at the end of it. I’ve also never had to use a dietary supplement for things like calcium.
Variety is the spice of life for our pets so I also breed lobster, hisser and dubia roaches for them, but interestingly enough each roach differs in nutrient level too (and this seems almost independent on what they are fed), a breakdown below, note however that the values are whole percentages per weight only, not percentage per energy unit which is why the figures for mealworms and crickets are different to those above:
Sample Moisture Protein Fat Fiber Ash
B. Laterallis 63.63% 36.5% 5.31% 2.19% 1.95%
B. Dubia 61.18% 35.6% 6.75% 3.25% 2.01%
Meal worms 58.74% 21.0% 15.52% 2.01% 1.18%
Crickets 71.96% 18.5% 6.26% 2.09% 1.29%
G. Portentosa 64.09% 26.7% 5.05% 5.62% 1.37%
(Source:
doubleds.org/contactus.html
)
Each and every feeder has its pros and cons, but I would be loath to do without my silkies in season! I must say however, after summer is past I do enjoy my rest!!!!
